Adjustable miter-box.



No. 722,051, PATBNTED MAR. 3, 1903.

A. SHERMAN & J. R. MORE.

ADJUSTABLE MITER BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

INVENTORLS WITN ESSES.

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No. 722,051. PATBNTBD MAR. 3, 1903. A.'SHBRMAN & JQ. R. MOORE.

ADJUSTABLE MITER BOX. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 31, 1902.

2 BHBETS-SEBBT 2.

H0 MODEL.

.il w` YIIIB INVENTORS WITN EssEs.

llNTTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLF SHERMAN AND JOHN R. MOORE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

ADJUSTABLE NilTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,051, dated March 3,1903.

Application filed July 31, 1902. Serial No. 117.791. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom. t may concern:

Be it known that we, ADoLF SHERMAN and JOHN R. MOORE, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State ofConnecticut,have invented a new and useful Adjustable Miter-Box,of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, andeasily-operated miter-box which shall be adapted for all of the varioususes to which ruiter-boxes are ordinarily applied by carpenters,joiners, and artisans generally.

l/Vith these ends in view our invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts,improvements,and combinations,whichwill be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out in theclaims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich like characters of reference indicate the same parts, Figure 1 isa side elevation of our novel miterbox complete; Fig. 2, a plan Viewcorresponding therewith; Fig. 3, an inverted plan view, one of theangle-arms being thrown outward and being indicated at an intermediateposition by dotted lines; Fig. 4, an end view as seen from the left inFig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 in Fig. 3.

10 denotes the body, and 11 the back plate. The body and back plate maybe made of metal and, if preferred, cast in a single piece, or saidparts may be made of wood and secured together in anysuitable manner.With- :in the body is a recess 12, covered by a top plate 13, whichrests upon lugs 14 and is secured in place by screw 15.

16 denotes angle-arms hinged to the ends of the body and adapted toswing out in line with the back plate, as Clearly shown in Fig. 3. Thebody is shown as resting upon short legs 17, so that the angle-arms willswing clear of the ioor or whatever the instrument may rest upon.

18 denotes oscillating saw-guides pivoted in the body at the ends of theback plate, and 19 guide-rods, threaded or otherwise rigidly secured inthe saw-guides and extending outward therefrom.

20 denotes an adjustable gage-plate, having a slot or slots 21, in whichother oscillating saw-guides (indicated by 22) are adapted to slide.Saw-guides 22 are provided with Shanks 23, which engage the slots in thegage-plate, bushings 2 being preferably interposed between the Shanksand the slots in which they slide. The Shanks also preferably passthrough washers 25, which engage shoulders on the saw-guides and restupon the top of the gage-plate. The lower ends of the shanks arethreaded and are engaged by wing-nuts 26, by which saw-guides 22 may belocked in position after adjustment in the manner we will now describe.

27 denotes transverse holes in the Shanks, through which guide-rods 19pass freely. The guide-rods are shown asprovided with enlargements toreceive slots 28.

29 denotes bell-crank levers pivoted in recess 12. One arm of eachbell-crank lever is provided with a pin 30, which engages one of theslots 28, as clearly shown at the right in Fig. 2. A link 31 connectsthe other arm of each bell-crank lever with one of the anglearms 16, asis also clearly shown.. The gageplate is provided with arms 32, havingslots 33 and passing under the body, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Screws34, passing through the slots,engage the body and retain the gageplatein place, while permitting it to move in and out freely. A rod 35, theinner end of which is threaded or otherwise rigidly secured in the body,passes through a hub 36 upon the gage-plate. A set-screw 37 in the hubengages the rod and locks the gage-plate in any position in which it maybe placed, it being only necessary to move it outward away from the bodywhen wide moldings or other strips are being mitered.

The bell-crank levers and the links are so proportioned relatively toeach other and so connected to the angle-arms and guide-rods that theguide-rods will move just half as fast as the angle-arms. The operativesurfaces of the instrument in use are the outer face of the back plateand the outer face of the angle-arms, which for clearness ofillustration we have indicated, respectively, by 11 and 16a. It will beunderstood from the position of the parts in full lines at the right inFig. 2 that when the operative surfaces are at an angle of ninetydegrees to each other the guide-rod will be at an angle of forty-livede- IOO grees to each of the operative surfaces and from the position indotted lines that when the angle-arm is extended in line with the backplate the guide-rod will lie at an angle of ninety degrees to both ofthe operative surfaces.

The operation of our novel miter-box is as follows: Suppose that it isdesired to cut moldings or other strips for the obtuse angles of abay-window. The operator loosens one of the wing-nuts 26, so that theoscillating saw-guide 22 may slide freely in the slot in the gage-plate.He then places the instrument in the angle, resting the two operativesurfaces firmly against the Wood Work. When the angle-arm is moved, theeffect will be, through the bell-crank lever and link,to swing theguide-rod, and the guide-rod will in turn swing both of the saw-guides,maintaining the guide-slots 38 in the saw-guide 18 and the correspondingsaw-guide 22 in line with each other. It will be noted that theoscillation of saw-guide 18 is caused by the rigid attachment thereto ofthe guide-rod, and the oscillation of the corresponding saw-guide 22 iscaused by the movement of the guiderod through the transverse hole 27 inshank 23, it being understood that the guide-rod slides freely throughthis hole, and as the shank of the saw-guide moves freely in eitherdirection in the slot in the gage-plate it follows that when movement ofthe guide-rod takes place in either direction the saw-guide 22 mustoscillate just suiiciently to keep the guideslot therein in line withthe guide-slot in the corresponding saw-guide 18. Having placed theoperative surfaces at the desired angle with relation to each other, theoperator locks the saw-guide 22, and with it the guide-rod andangle-arm, in position by tightening the wing-nut. 'For convenience insetting the other angle-arm after either of them has been set we providescales 39 upon the gage-plate. These scales may be graduated andnumbered in any preferred manner. For example, a degree-scale that willindicate the degree of the angle, or, if preferred, a simplie set ofnumbers, may be used, it being simply required after having set one ofthe angle-arms to set the other at precisely the same angle. Having setboth of the anglearms, the operator proceeds to miter a molding or otherstrip by placing it in the body, resting against the back plate, andthen sawing olf the end by means of a saw lying in the guide-slots 38 ofa saw-guide 18 and the corresponding saw-guide 22.v To miter anotherpiece to match the piece just prepared, the operator would place it atthe other end of the instrument and would place the saw in the otherpair of saw-guides, it being understood, of course, that the operationof setting the instrument and mitering corresponding pieces of moldingcan be performed in very much less time than it takes to describe theoperation-in fact, an amount of time that is`hardly appreciable. The topof the angle-arms may be slightly lower than the surface of the topplate, if preferred, although that is immaterial. The length of the bodylikewise-is a matter of no importance so far as the principle of theinvention is concerned and may be changed by builders to suit thespecial requirements of uses for which the instruments are intended.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. A miter-box consistingof a body, an angle-arm hinged at the end of the body, an oscillatingsaw-guide, a guide-rod extending therefrom, a saw-guide carried by theguiderod and connections intermediate the anglearm and the guide-rod,whereby the guiderod is caused to move half the distance traversed bythe angle-arm and the saw-guides are placed in position to cut a mitercorresponding to the angle at which the angle-arm is placed relative tothe body.

2. A miter-box consisting of a body, a back plate, an angle-arm hingedat the end of the body, an oscillating saw-guide, a guide-rod extendingtherefrom, a saw-guide carried by the guide-rod, connectionsintermediate the angle-arm and the guide-rod whereby the guide-rod iscaused to move half the distance traversed by the angle-arm and meansfor locking the parts in position after adjustment.

3. In an instrument of the character described, the combination with abody, an angle-arm hinged thereto and a saw-guide oscillating thereon,of a guide-rod extending from the oscillating saw-guide, connectionsintermediate the angle-arm and the guide-rod whereby the guide-rod iscaused to move half the distance traversed by the angle-arm and anothersaw-guide carried by the guide-rod.

4. In an instrument of the character described, the combination with abody, a back plate and an angle-arm hinged at the end of the body, of anoscillating saw-guide, a guiderod extending therefrom, connectionsintermediate the angle-arm and the guide-rod whereby the guide-rod iscaused to move half the distance traversed by the angle-arm and asaw-guide 22 carried by the guide-rod.

5. In an instrument of the character described, the combination with abody, an angle-arm hinged thereto, a saw-guide oscillating thereon, aguide-rod extending from the oscillating saw-guide and connectionsintermediate the anglearm and the guide-rod whereby the guide-rod iscaused to move half the distance traversed by the angle-arm, of agage-plate having a slot and a saw-guide having a shank engaging saidslot and a transverse hole through which the guide-rod passes.

6. In an instrument of the character described, the combination with abody, an angle-arm hinged thereto, a saw-guide oscillating thereon, aguide-rod extending from the oscillating saw-guide and connectionsintermediate the angle-arm and guide-rod where- IIO by the guide-rod iscaused to move half the distance traversed by the angle-arm, of agage-plate adjust-ably secured to the body and provided with a slot, asaw-guide having a shank engaging the slot and a transverse hole throughwhich the guide-rod passes and means for locking the saw-guide carriedby the guide-rod in the slot in the gage-plate.

7. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of abody, having a rod 35 extending therefrom, an angle-arm hinged to thebody, a saw-guide oscillating on the body a guide-rod extending from thesaw-guide and connections intermediate the angle-arm and guide-rodwhereby theguiderod is caused to move half the distance traversed by theangle-arm, of a gage-plate having slotted arms by which it is secured tothe body a longitudinal slot 2l and a hub through which rod 35 passes, aset-screw in said hub by which the gage-plate is locked in place, asaw-guide having a shank engaging slot 2l and a transverse hole throughwhich the guide-rod passes and a wing-nut on the shank by which thesaw-guide carried by the guide rod is locked to the gage-plate.

8. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with a body, an angle-arm A. M. WOOSTER, E. GALLAGHER.

